Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 190 - 187: Mysterious Background

When the design director of Salvatore Ferragamo’s shoemaking department arrived at the dinner scene, she was utterly stunned.

Originally, when Lei Pili mentioned that Yan Yan was his junior in college, he had agreed to introduce her to a brand director higher in rank than himself.

This incident had made Lei Pili even more certain of the collected "public relations" information that described the shoemaking department’s design director as relatively easygoing.

However, upon arriving at the scene, the director couldn’t fulfill her promise.

She couldn’t find an opportunity to introduce Yan Yan to the brand director because the brand director had taken a step ahead, introducing Yan Yan to her first and suggesting she meet her prospective intern beforehand.

The design director of the shoemaking department was surprised—what kind of background did this intern have?

The chairman had handed over the "intern’s" graduation project to her, and as soon as the diplomats heard the name of "this intern," they were exceptionally excited. Even the brand director, who didn’t speak English in Italy, personally introduced "this intern" to her in English.

The brand director not only introduced Yan Yan to her company’s design director but also recommended her to two other designers and brand directors he knew well.

The background of "this intern" began to grow mysterious from that moment.

The more mysterious a person, the more people wish to learn about her.

Yan Yan’s face, completely unknown within the European fashion circle, like a butterfly effect, was recommended by one leading figure to another throughout the evening.

Many were curious about this sudden emergence of Yan Yan, the sapphire-blue "butterfly."

Of course, the best way to satisfy their curiosity was to ask directly.

Yan Yan answered any question asked, honestly responding that she was a designer about to intern at the shoemaking department of Salvatore Ferragamo.

But a normal intern designer, still labeled as "prospective," wouldn’t possibly receive such high-level treatment, would she?

Yan Yan’s frankness didn’t resolve everyone’s questions.

Instead, it made everyone ever more curious, turning to Ferragamo’s design director of the shoemaking department to seek more information.

Without this inquiry, the guests wouldn’t have reached a new level of curiosity.

The design director said she was very curious about what kind of background her upcoming intern had, as even the portfolio was personally handed to her by the chairman.

The dinner organizers gave Yan Yan a translator, a gesture of special consideration that those who arrived early witnessed.

The Ferragamo brand director, known for only speaking Italian in Italy, uncharacteristically introduced Yan Yan in English—a sight nearly everyone witnessed.

Adding to this was the information from the shoemaking department director about Ferragamo’s board personally looking after her.

Yan Yan’s background began to grow elusive and confusing.

At the scene, nobody was willing to believe that Yan Yan was just an intern designer without any background.

Thus, due to Yan Yan "keeping it a secret," nobody could get more information about her background from her directly, and they turned instead to show interest in the dress she wore.

To those attending the dinner, Yan Yan was "low-key" just like the skillfully crafted Iris flower on the back of her dress that demanded closer inspection to be appreciated.

The fashion circle has always been enclosed and a bit mysterious, and within this circle, the more mysterious an individual, the more attention they attract from insiders.

Today’s designer’s dinner wasn’t a red carpet event of the Four Fashion Weeks; if it had been, Yan Yan might even have won an award like Best Dressed.

People understood Yan Yan wearing her own designed clothes and Ferragamo shoes as her intention to improve her shoemaking skills beyond garment making, making it a "no-brainer" to choose to intern at Ferragamo.

Thus, the "rumor" spread unchecked, and the truth and people’s perceptions were entirely unrelated.

Yan Yan didn’t know about this misunderstanding; if she did, she would probably be pleased to see it continue.

Since she wanted to establish her own brand, the first thing she had to do was become a regular at the Four Fashion Weeks, hosting her own fashion shows.

In today’s "attention economy," it had become increasingly difficult for new shoe brands to quickly rise in the global fashion scene.

Shoes were always meant to be showcased alongside clothing to enhance each other and capture people’s attention.

Yan Yan did not want to be like the previous generation, diligently working in the shoemaking field for decades, still oblivious to the meaning of "brand."

There were many excellent designers, but not every fashion designer could find their place in the fashion world.

After all, the concept of fashion had always been defined by a select few.

And today, Yan Yan was introduced to almost half of these select few.

The dinner had ended rather late.

Yan Yan did not refuse Lei Pili’s offer to take her back.

After all, it was only her first day in Italy, and she was still a bit disoriented.

Yan Yan decided to interact with Lei Pili in her normal way.

She felt no need to feel guilty because of earlier misunderstandings, nor did she need to narcissistically think that anyone who had pursued her would like her forever, always thinking about how to reject them.

"Lei, the big diplomat, when did you start learning Italian? Although I don’t understand it, it sounds impressive," Yan Yan usually refrained from using the word "thanks" when expressing gratitude.

"I started learning it in my freshman year," Lei Pili answered Yan Yan’s question.

"You started learning in your freshman year? You really planned ahead, knowing that you would come to Italy that early," Yan Yan started the conversation.

"Foreign language majors had to learn a second language, and I just happened to choose Italian. Not just in my freshman year, even a few months ago, I didn’t know I would be coming to Italy," Lei Pili continued the topic.

"Is that so? Then you knew later than I did. I decided to study in Italy at least a year and a half ago," Yan Yan stated, though not very precisely.

In fact, she had decided to come to Polimoda Fashion Academy two years prior.

However, at that time, before reuniting with Qi Yi, Yan Yan planned to earn another master’s degree in Italy, not just for further studies.

"I never knew you loved shoes so much. You can even remember the year of each pair of shoes. Shouldn’t that be considered an obsession?" That was what Lei Pili thought when he translated for Yan Yan.

"Haha, cool, right? Actually, I just learned it before the dinner.

I had just visited the Salvatore Ferragamo museum before going to the dinner.

Otherwise, I would only know the basics, not the exact years.

Shoes are not like wine, what’s the point of tasting their years?" Yan Yan always had the "problem" of speaking her mind.

As she spoke, Yan Yan laughed again, her smile bright and clear.

"It is impressive," Lei Pili enjoyed watching Yan Yan laugh, pure and unadulterated.

"Impressive for what? On-the-spot learning? On the other hand, you, translating all those obscure shoe terms and shapes without stumbling.

Your Italian is as fluent as opera singing," Yan Yan thought men were usually at a disadvantage in this area.